A HISTORY OF FALCONRY

INTRODUCTION

When considering the history of falconry it must always be remembered that different types of birds hunt in different ways and for different prey, and are adapted to hunting in particular environments; therefore the environment will always play a major role in the development and use of falconry. There are numerous species of birds of prey distributed throughout the world, except in the extreme polar regions. Broadly speaking, there are 3 general types of birds that are most commonly used for falconry: the longwings, shortwings and broadwings.

1. longwings: these are the falcons, which take predominantly flying game, often pursuing quarry over long distances. They have long pointed, tapering wings and relatively short tails. To hunt with longwings an open landscape is needed, to allow the falconer to follow his bird and to reach it when it has made a kill.
2. shortwings: these include, in particular, the hawks (egs. Goshawk, Sparrowhawk) and take quarry on or closer to the ground, and in general do not pursue game over long distances. They have rounded ends to their wings and relatively long tails (which help in manoeuvrability), and are adapted to hunting in more enclosed areas, such as woodland.
3. broadwings: these include, in particular, buzzards and eagles. These have broad wing bases and wide tails adapted for soaring flight. For falconry, they are particularly suited to open hill country or rolling grassland where they can catch up-draughts and ‘slope-soar’ while looking for prey (mountainous terrain is unsuitable for falconry, as it would probably be impossible to follow a bird, or reach a bird with a kill). Many broadwings are, however, very adaptable and can successfully hunt in terrain unsuited to ‘slope-soaring’.

It is also important to bear in mind a basic principle of archaeology; that the lack of evidence for a particular activity does not, in itself, necessarily mean that it did not take place – it is possible that it did occur, but that no evidence survived.

ORIGINS

Man’s first use of the hunting talents of birds of prey was probably by our earliest meat eating ancestors. More scavengers than hunters, on finding a bird of prey with a kill, they would have took the opportunity to scare the bird off and claim its prey for themselves. Rooted in pre-history, there is very little evidence relating to the origins of falconry, and in the archaeological context the thin, lightweight bones of birds do not generally survive very well.

The earliest direct evidence for falconry is generally accepted as being that of an Assyrian bas-relief sculpture from Khorsabad (in modern day Iraq), dated to the reign of the Assyrian king Sargon II, 722-705BC. This shows a man carrying a small bird of prey on his right wrist; what appear to be jesses are attached to the birds legs, and these are held between the thumb and forefinger of the falconer. There is an earlier Hittite bas-relief from Anatolia dating to circa 1,500BC which shows a large bird (possibly a raptor) on the fist of a human figure, the same fist holding a hare by its back legs. This, however, is not usually interpreted as a reference to the practise of falconry, but as having religious or symbolic meaning. On archaeological sites in the Middle East there is a consistent presence of bones from large raptors, such as eagles, dating as far back as 10,000BC; these bones are possibly evidence for falconry, but these birds could have been used for other purposes (as food, for example). There are many representations of hawks in early ancient Egyptian culture, but these are generally seen as representations of Horus or other hawk-gods.

Other early evidence of falconry is more indirect. One Japanese source says that in China falcons were given as gifts between princes from the time of the Hia dynasty, which began around 2205BC. Japanese writings also tell of a large hawking expedition led by a King Wen Wang in the Hunan province of China in around 680BC. Although old, these writings are not contemporary with the events described and their accuracy is debatable; however, the hawking expedition of 680BC (which was on a truly grand scale) is described in great detail, and has probably come from an earlier source.

Writing in about 220AD the writer Aelius quotes Ctesias, a court physician to the rulers of Persia, who in circa 400BC reported on eagles, crows and kites trained to hunt down hares and foxes in Central Asia. There appears to be no evidence for falconry in the art or literature of the classical Greeks, other than a passage in Aristotle’s Historia Animalium written in the 4th century BC. Here Aristotle says that in Thrace (roughly the area between northern Greece and the Black Sea) “men hunt for little birds in the marshes with the aid of hawks”; He does not , however make it totally clear whether the hawks were actually trained for this purpose, although it seems likely that they were.

Overall, it seems that the earliest evidence for falconry comes from the early civilizations which developed on the more fertile fringes of Central Asia. Early records, writings and art from these civilizations were commissioned by the ruling elites, and were therefore concerned with their interests and activities; in general it is not until falconry has become a well established high status sport, as well as a means of obtaining meat, that evidence for its practise starts to appear. Therefore, there is a strong implication that falconry was practised well before such evidence as the bas-relief from Khorsabad, probably by the nomadic peoples of Central Asia, and possibly pre-dating the development of agricultural societies and the emergence of these civilisations. Central Asia was characterised by great zones of open steppe grassland, rolling hills, large mountains and deserts. Game would have been very difficult to approach in these vast open areas and hunting in these areas with little cover posed particular problems; it would have been very difficult to get close enough to successfully catch and kill any animal. In the wild, birds of prey successfully hunted in these areas, and the development of falconry, utilising the hunting skills and great speed of these birds would have provided a solution to these problems. Falconry was particularly suited to these open areas, not only because of the abilities of the birds, but also in that the falconer can easily keep his bird in sight. Although birds of prey suitable for falconry can be found in, and adapted to, all sorts of environments, it is unlikely that falconry would have been initially developed in areas where hunting was easier, and more productive and efficient methods of hunting were available. It seems likely that falconry would have been developed in non-agricultural (possibly pre-agricultural) societies. It was in these areas that horse-power was first used by man; during the 3rd millennium BC chariots came to dominate battlefields from Mesopotamia to China, and the first evidence of horse riding comes from north of the Caspian Sea from circa 2000BC. By 1000BC nomadic pastoralism, based on the use of the horse had become firmly established in Central Asia. The availability and use of the horse, its speed allowing a falconer to effectively follow a bird and claim its kill, could have been another factor making falconry a successful method of hunting in these wide open areas.

In such areas as Kazikstan (on the western fringes of Central Asia) and in Mongolia falconry is practised today, mainly using Golden Eagles. Hunting is on horseback with either perches fixed to the saddles, or the eagle carried on the wrist supported by an armrest. There are 19th century accounts from European travellers of trained eagles being used in these areas to hunt for hares, foxes, deer and wolves. One 19th century Russian writer reports that the killing of foxes could be a lucrative business due to the value of the skins, and that “many a Kirghis family is maintained during a whole winter on the proceeds furnished by a single eagle.” Today hunting is more limited and lifestyles have changed, but the appeal of this form of falconry as a tourist attraction is now helping to promote its survival.

Later on, in the 2nd-4th centuries AD there is evidence that falconry was also well established in northern India, Japan and possibly Korea. It is also likely that falconry was practised from an early date in Persia and the Arabian Peninsular. There is little direct evidence, but these areas have a long history of falconry and are in close proximity to, and have many connections with, areas where early evidence has been found (such as Assyria and N. India). In both Indian and Arabic traditions there is mention of falconry being first introduced by an ancient Persian king. Falconry is also mentioned in the Koran (Mohammed died in 632A.D.), and in the Hadith (the collections of the Prophet’s sayings) there is a reference to Mohammed’s uncle being converted to Islam on his return from a hunting expedition, his hawk on hand.

Elsewhere in the world, the aboriginal peoples of Australasia, who caught birds of prey for food, did not practise falconry. Elements of falconry were, however, practised in the pre-Columbian Americas, but there is no evidence of birds being used for hunting. Both the Californian and the Andean Condors were often held captive for ritual purposes, sometimes involving ritual death. The Pueblo Indians of the S.W. of the U.S.A. kept golden Eagles for their moulted feathers, eagles occurring throughout N.American legends and culture.

FALCONRY IN WESTERN EUROPE

As previously mentioned there is no evidence for falconry from ancient Greek sources, other than the reference made by Aristotle. It is not until Roman texts of the 1st century AD that the first possible evidence for falconry in W. Europe appears. However, both the classical Greeks and later the Romans had many links with areas in the east where falconry was practised. From the 1st millennium BC successive waves of the nomadic peoples of Central Asia moved westwards through migration and invasion (by the 5th century AD invasions of Europe by nomadic warriors, such as those led by Attila the Hun, helped lead to the collapse of the Roman Empire). The Greeks had trading colonies around the Black Sea and the eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean as early as 700BC, and between 336-326BC Alexander’s empire extended as far east as N. India, including Assyria and Persia. It seems likely that the ancient Greeks were aware of falconry, but that it was an activity that they did not practise, or if they did only on a very small and localised scale. The Romans had a long history of trade with the East, and the 1st century BC saw the development of major Euro-Asian trade routes such as the Great Silk Road, with the Roman Empire itself extending into the Middle East. Caesar (100-44BC) was said to have used falcons to kill pigeons carrying messages (although it is not made clear if the falcons were trained or not), and Martial (104-40BC) describes the hawk as “the servant of the bird-catcher”. There are more direct allusions to falconry by later Roman writers, indicating that falconry was actually being practised in W. Europe by the 4th century AD; one example is that of an elderly Mediterranean author writing in about 400AD, who mentions his desire when young to have a “swift dog and a splendid hawk”. However, these references are not very common or very detailed, and although other forms of hunting are depicted, falconry does not appear in Roman art. Therefore it appears that although falconry was known to the Romans, and was being practised in Europe by the 4th century (or possibly earlier), it did not become a very widespread or popular activity.

During the break up of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD new kingdoms emerged in Europe, such as those of the Franks, Burgundians, Lombards and Frisians. It is in the early law codes of these warrior cultures (in the 6th century AD) that the first detailed and specific evidence for falconry in Europe appears, generally in the context of fines and punishments imposed for the theft of birds. The earliest of these is the Lex Salicia, which is dated to about 500AD. The clauses relating to the theft of hawks and falcons not only show the high value placed on these birds, but also give clear evidence that birds were being kept tethered on perches, and often “locked up” in pens or buildings. The differing fines also reflect the level of the birds training, and therefore worth. In a Burgundian code of 524-532AD the punishment for stealing a falcon involved the offender “allowing” the falcon to eat 6 ounces of meat placed on his breast (head or buttocks in alternative translations). A monetary fine was given as an alternative, and considering the tearing action used by a falcon when feeding, this was probably the preferred option.

Further north in Sweden, mainly in the areas around Uppsala and Stockholm, the remains of birds of prey have been found in many burials of the 6th and 7th centuries AD. These bones are found exclusively in burials of great wealth and high status, as are in general the bones of the wild birds that were their prey. The people who made these burials used the bird of prey as a decorative motif, and taken with the fact that the law codes show that falconry was well established in neighbouring continental Europe at this time, it seems clear that these are the remains of birds used for falconry. These burials also provide direct evidence of the types of birds that were being used; bones have been identified as belonging to gyrfalcons (the largest of the falcons, native to the Arctic areas and the north), peregrine falcons, goshawks, sparrowhawks and eagle owls, with goshawks the most common. The inclusion of eagle owls is perhaps surprising, as owls are generally nocturnal hunters, mainly using their acute sense of hearing to locate their prey. Practising falconry at night with owls would obviously present some difficulties, but it would be possible (in particular on moonlit nights), and would be a novelty and a challenge to the falconer; today, eagle owls are sometimes used to hunt at night, aided by powerful flashlights. Also eagle owls are not necessarily purely nocturnal hunters; in particular in Scandinavian northern latitudes with short summertime nights it seems likely that the birds were familiar with daytime hunting. Their imposing size and presence would have also made them attractive birds to keep and train, and they may have also been used as decoys to attract other birds. Where bird of prey remains are found, the bones of examples of their prey usually accompany them; these have been identified to include geese, cranes, duck and grouse.

The evidence provided by the early law codes of continental Europe and by the Scandinavian burials clearly shows that falconry had become firmly established across Europe by the 6th century AD. To become a subject of legislation falconry must have been an established activity for some time, implying that it was the emergence of the new European kingdoms of the 5th century AD that saw the establishment of falconry as an important cultural activity. The high values placed on the birds in the law codes, and the fact that in the Swedish burials the bones of birds of prey are only present in burials of great wealth and totally absent from ordinary or average burials, show that falconry was a high status activity practised by the elites. However, exactly how exclusive a practise it was is difficult to say.

The popularity of falconry in Europe continued to grow. Falconry is referred to on a regular basis in later legislation and in other records and documents, and birds for falconry became common as ‘gifts’ between kings, princes and other members of the elite. Falconry appears increasingly in art and literature, and by later medieval times had become something of a mania, and an established and popular part of European culture. Until the 20th century AD the main types of birds used for falconry (although many other types were used on occasion) remained basically the same as those found in the Scandinavian burials of the 6th and 7th centuries AD: the gyrfalcon, peregrine falcon, goshawk and sparrowhawk. These were birds present in the wild in Europe, and therefore both available and naturally adapted to hunting within the European environment. Although eagles were available, they were never popular with European falconers as their hunting abilities were rarely considered worth the carrying of their great weight. Possibly the European environment allowed for the more successful use of lighter and more easily trained birds than did the steppeland and desert environments further east.

FALCONRY IN BRITAIN.

The earliest written evidence for falconry in Britain is in an 8th century letter, written in 745-6AD, from Boniface the archbishop of Mainz to Athelbald, king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. Boniface mentions that he is sending a hawk and 2 falcons from Germany as a gift to Athelbald. In another letter, written between 748AD and 755AD, Athelbert II of Kent asks Boniface to send him 2 falcons to catch cranes; he also complains that British hawks are not as good as those of the continent. At Bewcastle in Cumbria (near Carlisle), on the shaft of the Bewcastle Cross, is an Anglo-Saxon relief sculpture depicting falconry. This shows a hawk or falcon sitting on the gloved left hand of a standing figure; beneath the bird there is what appears to be a T-shaped perch, and the figure holds a stick in its right hand (presumably for beating the bush to scare prey into sight). This has been stylistically dated to the first half of the 8th century AD, and although such dating is not precise, this sculpture probably pre-dates the letters.

It is possible that even earlier evidence can be seen on the famous Sutton Hoo purse lid. The Sutton Hoo burial has been dated to the first half of the 7th century AD, and is probably the burial place of Redwald, an East Anglian king who died around 625AD. There are four pictorial plaques on the purse lid, 2 of a hawk grasping a smaller bird (probably a duck), and 2 of a figure with 2 dogs. It seems quite possible that this design represents the practise of falconry, probably within a symbolic or mythic context. As such, this would suggest that falconry was being practised (or at least was known of) in Britain over a century before the letter from Boniface. In Kent hawk motifs have been found as decoration on Anglo-Saxon artefacts of the 6th and 7th centuries AD, including various ‘hawk-with-grasping-talon’ brooches (which are also found on the continent). Although not in itself direct evidence for falconry, the appearance of these motifs on high status jewellery and weaponry again suggests the practise and popularity of falconry amongst the elites. Very few raptor bones are found in the archaeological record for the Anglo-Saxon period, but this is difficult to evaluate, as bird bones do not usually survive well in the temperate environment of Britain.

The Anglo-Saxon, coming from Denmark and the northern Germanic regions, began to settle in Britain in the second half of the 5th century AD. By the 8th century the great Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Kent, East Anglia, Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex had been established. As falconry was already an established practise on the continent and in Scandinavia, it seems likely that the early Anglo-Saxons probably knew of falconry even if its practise was not widespread. The Anglo-Saxons maintained many trade, cultural and kinship links with the continent, with marriage alliances made between the royal houses common. As falconry grew in importance as a high status activity on the continent, it is probably these links that led to falconry also becoming an important activity amongst the elites of Anglo-Saxon England, well established as such by the 8th century AD throughout the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

By the middle of the 9th century AD falconry is increasingly mentioned in various documentation, showing the growing importance of falconry amongst the nobility. In particular, it is often mentioned in charters in clauses where an obligation to feed huntsmen and falconers and their animals is removed. In Asser’s life of Alfred the Great (king of Wessex from 871-899AD), Alfred is described as “giving instruction….to his falconers, hawk trainers, and dog-keepers”. Alfred was reputed to have written a book on falconry, but although there are references to such a book in contemporary writings, there is no direct evidence of its existence.

A Welsh law code shows that by the first half of the 10th century AD falconry was also firmly established in areas outside of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. This law code, attributed to the Welsh king Hywel the Good, describes in great detail the rights and privileges of his Chief Falconer. This office was considered of great importance, and out of the 24 officers of the royal court was the 4th in rank, above the Court Judge, the Head Groom, and the Chief Huntsman. The Chief Falconer was entitled to many rights and privileges, some of which related directly to his occupation. To feed his birds he was entitled to all the hearts and lungs of the wild animals used in the royal kitchen, and a ewe or 4 pence towards the cost of food for the hawks when travelling around the royal estates. The Chief Huntsman was also obliged to supply him with the skin of a hart in autumn, and the skin of a hind in spring, providing the raw materials for the making of some of his falconry equipment. So his birds would not suffer, there were also measures designed to regulate his sobriety! This code also shows that the bittern, the heron and the crane (or curlew in some texts) were the most sought after and prestigious type of quarry. By this time the Welsh kingdoms had many long established links with the Anglo-Saxons, often paying tribute and swearing fealty to the Anglo-Saxon kings; Hywel the Good had a particularly close alliance with the English kings (especially Athelstan) and was somewhat of an Anglophile. In 926-7AD all the Welsh kings, including Hywel, met Athelstan at Hereford to affirm their acknowledgement of him as overlord or ‘mechteyrn’ (Great King), and agreed to pay him a huge yearly tribute that included as many hawks and hounds as the ‘Great King’ required.

There is no direct evidence for the practise of falconry in Britain before the 8th century AD, and the general implication is that it was the Anglo-Saxons that introduced falconry to Britain. However, this does not completely rule out the possibility that falconry was practised before the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons; lack of surviving evidence does not necessarily mean that an activity did not take place. Britain was home to many species of birds of prey suitable for training and for 400 years was part of the Roman Empire, within which falconry was known of, even if not widely practised.

As in Asia, the first evidence appears in the context of falconry as a high status activity, engaged in by the elites. It is possible that the Romano-British or Iron Age peoples living in Britain practised some form of falconry before the Anglo-Saxons arrived. Falconry practised on a localised and occasional basis, simply as one hunting method amongst the many available, would (for these times) be extremely unlikely to produce any surviving evidence. Purely as a means of obtaining meat, it is unlikely that falconry would have been of any particular importance, as other more productive means of hunting were usually available in the British environment. It is falconry as a popular high status ‘sport’, as well as a provider of meat, that becomes an important cultural activity and results in the first evidence for its practise in Britain.

MEDIEVAL FALCONRY

There is ample evidence to show that during medieval times falconry was held in high esteem, and was a popular and widespread activity amongst the upper echelons of society throughout Europe and beyond. How exclusive a practise it was is harder to determine.

The picture of falconry in Europe presented by the vast majority of the evidence is one where a trained bird is a valuable item. As such, birds would be kept for a number of years, requiring feeding and large amounts of time to be spent with them. Supplying food for the birds was particularly important at their time of moulting, when a bird would only have a limited ability to hunt; the general practise was to confine or ‘mew’ the bird in an “airy chamber” or enclosure until the moult was completed, keeping it well fed to promote the re-growth of the feathers. (From this, a building used to house falconry birds became known as a mews.) Some degree of wealth would be needed to afford the values put on these birds, and to have the means and the time needed to maintain their fitness and training (or to employ someone else to do so.)

A different picture of the use of falconry is presented by a teaching aid for Latin conversation written at the turn of the 11th century AD. This is from The Colloquy of Aelfric; Aelfric was an abbot in England between 955-1010 AD. This is in the form of a conversation between a teacher and a fowler, the teacher questioning the fowler about his occupation:

“Fowler: In many ways I entice birds – with nets, with nooses, with lime, with hawks, or with traps.
Teacher: How do you feed your hawks?
Fowler: They feed themselves and me in the winter, in the spring I let them fly to the woods; in the autumn I take the young ones and tame them.
Teacher: And why do you let them go when they are trained?
Fowler: I do not wish to feed them in the summer, they eat a great deal.”

Here the young bird is taken from the nest in autumn, trained (a bird can be ready to hunt in 3 weeks), and used to provide meat during the winter, when it both feeds itself and provides meat for the Fowler. Although an agricultural society, even for those with access to domestic animal meat, fresh meat provided by hunting and trapping was very important. It was of particular importance during the winter, when any available farm produced meat was usually salted; medieval agriculture did not have the ability to over-winter many animals and most of the livestock was killed at the onset of winter, the meat preserved by salting. Any animals kept would usually be regarded as too valuable to be slaughtered (such as breeding stock). The Fowler does not consider a hawk worth keeping during the summer when it is moulting, as for him it is not a practical proposition to keep and maintain a bird when it loses its usefulness as an efficient means of obtaining meat (i.e. the gain in meat no longer outweighs his investment in time and resources). Therefore he releases the trained bird in the spring, and takes and trains a new bird in the autumn. There is also a clue to the types of bird the Fowler was using in that he lets “them fly to the woods”. (The use of ‘hawk’ in the text is not definitive in the sense that the terms of hawk and falcon are today). The shortwings and broadwings are adapted to woodland habitats, and this suggests that he was using hawks rather than falcons, probably goshawks or sparrowhawks. The goshawk in particular was important for providing meat, and in medieval times was known as the ‘Cook’s Bird’. Falcons, however, were more associated with the sporting aspect of falconry; the taking of birds in flight, such as heron, often providing spectacular aerial pursuits, was considered the highest form of falconry. As longwings the falcons are ideally suited for this, herons and the larger birds usually taken by peregrine or gyrfalcons.

Falconry as practised by the Fowler required less time and resources, making it a practical proposition to a wider range of people other than just the very wealthy. Exactly how widespread the practise of falconry was within society is extremely difficult to assess, as there is a general lack of evidence from these times relating to the activities of ordinary people. It is falconry as a high status ‘sporting’ activity that appears in documents, other written works, and art; the occasional or seasonal practise of falconry, primarily as a means of obtaining meat, would probably not be recorded. In areas where migratory patterns could be exploited, the seasonal element could have been particularly important. Today in the Black Sea area, continuing an ancient practise, migrating sparrowhawks are trapped and rapidly trained in order to catch migrant quail; after the short migration season is over the hawks are released.

There is, however, no doubt to the importance of falconry to the royal households and great lords of medieval Europe. Household accounts detail numerous purchases of hawks and falcons, and payments relating to their upkeep. Many birds were given as gifts to royalty and were regarded as particularly appropriate as diplomatic gifts given between kings and princes. An example of this is perhaps shown on the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry, where Harold Godwineson (before the death of Edward the Confessor) is pictured setting out to see Duke William of Normandy with a hawk on his wrist; after they meet it is William that is shown carrying the hawk, implying that the hawk was a diplomatic gift given to William.

Gyrfalcons were regarded as the most appropriate birds for kings; the largest and most powerful of the falcons, they were used in particular to hunt large birds such as herons and cranes. Ranging in colour from white to dark sooty grey, a white gyrfalcon was the most highly prized of the birds used in European falconry. Unlike peregrines, goshawks and sparrowhawks, which could be found throughout much of Europe, the gyrfalcon is basically an arctic bird (although it can sometimes be found further south). Those northern European monarchs geographically placed so as to have a virtual monopoly on the supply of wild gyrfalcons, had access to what were extremely valuable diplomatic gifts, and distributed gyrfalcons to monarchs throughout Europe and beyond. Henry III of England (1216-1270) received many birds from King Haakon of Norway. On one occasion Haakon sent Henry 6 gyrfalcons and 6 gentle falcons (6 female gyrfalcons and probably 6 male gyrfalcons – the female is always the falcon or hawk); he also wrote telling of how his falconers had spent 2 years in Iceland collecting the birds. In 1504 Tsar Ivan III sent 8 gyrfalcons to the Grand Duke of Lithuania and 6 to the Emperor of Austria, and his successor Ivan the Terrible sent a consignment of white gyrfalcons to the Princess Elizabeth, later to become Elizabeth I of England. In the 17th century Tsars sent gyrfalcons to various European royalty, the Shah of Persia, the Sultan of Turkey and the Khans of the Crimea. Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707 – 1751), son of George II, was the last member of the British royal family to receive gifts of falconry birds from abroad.

As items of high value, hawks and falcons were sometimes accepted in lieu of rents or services; in 1405 Henry IV of England granted the Isle of Man to Sir John Stanley, accepting “in lieu of all other services” a cast of falcons (2 falcons) to be presented to himself and to his successors on their coronation. They were also sometimes used to pay for the release of prisoners of war; the demanding of ransoms for the release of wealthy captives had become a common practise during medieval times.

Not only was falconry seen as an appropriate activity for kings and great lords, but it was also an activity that many of them practised with great enthusiasm. Many monarchs and lords took hawks and falcons on campaign with them; when Edward I of England (reigned 1327-1377) invaded France he took 30 mounted falconers with him. Crusaders often took their birds on crusades, with Richard I of England (r.1189-1199) reputed to have taken as many as 300 with him. An anecdote told by a contemporary chronicler about the prince Edward, later to become Edward I of England (r.1272-1307), tells how Edward was out with his falcons hunting fowl along a riverbank. When he saw that one of his courtiers on the other side of the river was not taking sufficient care of a falcon, which had brought down a duck among the reeds, he rebuked the courtier. The courtier, thinking that he was safe enough with the river between them, ignored him; furious, the prince plunged on horseback into the river (which was of unknown depth), swam across, and scrambled with some difficulty up the opposite bank. He then drew his sword and set off in pursuit of the courtier, who had fled in terror. In 1293 his son, the future Edward II, was at Berwick-on-Tweed when the English crown had become involved with the succession in Scotland. While there, he sent his falconer Stephen on a journey of 41 days, to bring him what must have been a favourite bird from London.

Many members of the Church practised falconry, although some orders (such as the Templars) and some popes tried to ban the clergy from taking part. In 1215 Pope Innocent III decreed, “We forbid hunting to the whole of the Clergy wherefore let them not presume to keep hawks”. In 1303 the Synod of Auch forbade Archdeacons from taking their hounds and hawks with them on their visits to their dioceses. Most of the higher clergy were from the wealthier sections of society for whom falconry was a common activity, and many carried on living their lives in much the same way as the secular members of their families. During the reign of Edward III of England the Bishop of Ely excommunicated an unknown thief who stole his hawk from the cloisters of Bermondsey. In France in 1423 the Canons of Auxerre were granted the right to attend services armed with their swords, clad in a surplice and amice, wearing a plumed hat, and with a hawk on their fist. The treasurers were also granted the right to attend divine services on feast days with their hawks. There are some reports of probably less privileged monks filing complaints about the practise of falconry within the walls of their monasteries.

The Paston Letters of the 15th century showed that English country gentlemen of more modest means than the great lords shared in the enthusiasm for falconry. In a letter of 1472 John Paston asks his brother to get him a goshawk, pleading that, “If I have not a hawk I shall wax fat for default of labour, and dead for default of company, by my troth.” City dwellers were also enthusiastic falconers, and writing in the 12th century Fitzstephen commented that many Londoners “do delight in hawks and hounds, for they have the liberty of hunting in Middlesex, Hertfordshire, all Chiltron (the Chilterns) and in Kent to the water of Cray”. At the end of the 16th century another writer, Stow, observed that “in hunting and hawking many grave citizens (Londoners) have great delight, and do rather want leisure than good will to follow”. Both Henry VII at the end of the 15th century and Edward VI in 1549 found it necessary to legislate against hawking and hunting the Kings game at Westminster; perhaps too many of these “grave citizens” couldn’t resist the chance of hunting closer to home, rather than having to take the time to travel to outlying hunting areas.

Women of high status often practised falconry or accompanied those doing so, and one of its attractions was that it was seen to be an activity that could be carried out in mixed company. The most important English medieval treatise written on falconry, The Boke of St Albans, was written (or perhaps compiled) by Dame Juliana Berners, the prioress of Sopworth Abbey. Women are depicted in the art of the time as practising falconry or accompanying falconers out hunting; the smaller birds, in particular the merlin, were considered appropriate for a Lady. When entrusted with the imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots Sir Ralph Sadler got into trouble with Queen Elizabeth I for allowing Mary to ride out hawking with him, commenting that falconry was “a pastime indeed which she (Mary) taketh singular delight in”.

Goshawks, sparrowhawks, peregrines and gyrfalcons remained the most common birds used in European falconry; other birds used included the merlin, hobby, lanner and kestrel. However, many enthusiastic falconers would have undoubtedly occasionally trained more unusual birds. In the first half of the 13th century Matthew Paris (a chronicler from the monastery at St Albans, England) wrote of a trained fish-eagle that was used to take teal and fish. Later on James I of England (r.1603-1625) became interested in the training of cormorants and ospreys, building a special establishment for their keep on the Thames at Westminster, and created the office of Master of the Royal Cormorants. A diplomatic visitor in 1610 tells of finding the King at Thetford “amusing himself by hunting and fishing with cormorants”. James also sent gifts of trained cormorants to the Duke of Lorraine and to Venice (although the ones sent to Venice were apparently seized on route by the Duke of Savoy!).

During the medieval period the travels of people like Marco Polo, and in particular the Crusades brought western falconers into direct contact with those of the east. In 1296 Marco Polo dictated his book The Travels of Marco Polo to a scribe while he was imprisoned in Genoa, describing his travels “for a good 26 years throughout the Orient”. He describes the Great Khan, Kublai Khan, hunting with gyrfalcons, sakers, goshawks, and eagles. The Grand Khan’s hunting expeditions were on a grand scale involving hundreds of birds. According to Marco Polo, when the Khan (who suffered from gout) went hawking he was carried in a wooden shelter carried by 4 elephants, keeping his favourite 12 gyrfalcons with him and sending them out after passing birds. Falconry also appeared in Chinese writings, usually as entries in encyclopaedic works on zoology, the earliest surviving of these (in copy form) dating back to the 7th century. During his travels Marco Polo also reported on places where wild birds of prey were available and caught for use in falconry.

The crusaders of the 12th and 13th centuries found that their opponents were as enthusiastic about falconry as they were, with falconry occupying a similar position of importance as a high status activity. During the siege of Acre (in Syria), towards the end of the 12th century, the crusading King Phillip of France lost a white gyrfalcon that was captured by Saladin’s forces; Phillip offered 1000 gold ducats for the return of his bird, an offer that Saladin refused, preferring to keep the bird. On their return the crusaders brought back what they had learnt about falconry as it was practised in the East. Although the basic principles and methods used to train and fly a bird were much the same, different environmental and cultural conditions meant that there were differences in some practises and in the furniture (falconry equipment) used.

The falconry traditions that the crusaders encountered were very old, and there were many Persian and Arabic treaties written on the subject of falconry, many of these containing copies or compilations of even older texts. In the 8th century Michael, the ruler of Byzantium, made a gift of a book on hawking that had belonged to his ancestors, to the Caliph of Baghdad. The Caliph then ordered a book to be written compiling “all the knowledge of the Persians, and the Turks, of the philosophers of Byzantium and the experience of the Arabs” on the subject of falconry. Only an abbreviated manuscript copy survives, listing 153 chapters on a wide range of topics relating to falconry. It was not until the time of the Crusades that a similar practise of writing specific works on falconry started to appear in Europe, no doubt in part inspired by those of the East. Probably the earliest surviving W. European manuscript on falconry, although far from comprehensive, is that of Adelard of Bath, a 12th century writer attached to the court of Henry I (r. 1100-1135). The Boke of St Albans, issued in 1486, (mentioned earlier) was of particular importance to British falconry; not only did it contain the first treatise on falconry to be written in the English language, it was also the first to be in printed form rather than manuscript. As such, this book had a wide circulation compared to earlier writings, and was reprinted 10 times over the following 100 years.

Undoubtedly the greatest medieval treatise on falconry was De Arte Venandi cum Avibus (The Art of Hunting with Birds) written by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily, in the first half of the 13th century. Frederick was a remarkable man for his times, contemporaries describing him as “stupor mundi” (wonder of the world) and as “the baptised Sultan of Sicily”. An educated man, he took little at face value and often rejected received wisdoms (including those of the Christian church) in favour of the spirit of investigation, experimentation and research. In 1224 he founded the University of Naples and he regulated and reformed the ancient school of medicine at Salerno. Conversant in at least 6 languages, he gathered learned men from the East and the West around him at his court, including Arab and Hebrew philosophers from Baghdad and Syria. He had close commercial and cultural links with the East, as well as being involved in the Crusades, and he adopted many eastern customs including dress and the keeping of his wives and concubines in the seclusion of the harem. His greatest passion, however, was falconry, which he regarded as “nobler, more worthy than, and superior to other kinds of hunting”. He brought in expert falconers from the East to test and observe their methods, and had eastern tracts on falconry translated; but above all he relied on his own observation, experimentation, and extensive experience as a practising falconer. His book has long been recognised as “the first zoological treatise written in the critical spirit of modern science”, and the form and content of what he writes about the practise of falconry is extremely detailed and meticulous, and surprisingly similar to modern day books and manuals on the subject.

One of the practises that the crusaders brought back with them was the use of the hood. Today the hood is seen as such a fundamental tool and symbol of falconry, it is often forgotten that for hundreds of years falconry was extensively practised in W. Europe without its use. There is no evidence of its use previous to the Crusades, but plenty of evidence for its use afterwards. Several crusader leaders such as Richard I of England and Frederick II of Sicily claimed to be the first to introduce the hood to Europe: whether completely true or not, the adoption of the hood by such prominent falconers would have insured its rapid spread in use.

In his book, The Art of Hunting with Birds, Frederick II describes in detail how birds are trained and managed both with and without the hood. The hood is a close fitting, usually leather, cover or cap fitted over a bird’s head and covering its eyes. The purpose of the hood is to exclude light, ideally putting the bird in a state of total darkness. Such a state of darkness will keep the bird quiet, preventing it from being startled by things around it or trying to pursue game when this is not what the falconer wants. Repeated bating (trying to fly off the glove when held by the jesses) can cause damage to the bird, tire the bird out both physically and mentally and affect its ability to hunt, and make the falconers job extremely hard work. Being able to put a bird in a state of darkness is of particular use during the early stages of training, and when a bird is travelling. (hood-winked)

Previous to the use of the hood this state of blindness was produced by sealing (seeling - preventing the eye from seeing!), the sewing together of the birds eyelids. Problems with this method included the distress caused to the bird and the possibility of damage to the eyes during the act of sealing (seeling), resulting eye infections, and the bird itself causing damage by scratching at the threads and needle holes. Over time the needle holes would grow in size and the eyelids would become less tightly closed and allow light in, which would reduce its effectiveness.

Another important method of quietening a bird was the use of a tiring, or as Frederick II also called it, the “emergency ration” in the form of small portions of food. Frederick writes that there are two kinds of tiring, the first being “the fresh and plump leg, plucked wing, or neck of a hen or another bird (or some suitable meat)” and “The second form of tiring, the ‘cold wing’ of a fowl with its tendons, bones, and all the feathers unplucked”. The first is “a tasty trifle of food”, while the second is something to occupy the falcon “in pulling and tearing it” (tearing or tiring - tiring the bird to keep it quiet). The falconer would carry these tirings in his hand or pouch ready to use for diverting the birds attention from whatever is disturbing it, Frederick advising that “While her attention is fixed on these titbits, the falconer should take the opportunity to investigate the causes of her restlessness and remove them at once”. As the weight of a bird and how much it has recently eaten is of crucial importance to its ability and willingness to hunt, a falconer could not just keep giving a bird ‘tasty trifles of food’ as this could seriously affect its performance. The second form of tiring offered a means of occupying a bird without actually giving it any digestible food. Frederick says that the tiring “is of the greatest assistance in taming falcons (especially when this is done without the hood)”.

Many of these ancient traditional methods used in falconry are still used today, however attitudes and the needs of the modern day falconer have changed a little.

FALCONRY AND THE ADVENT OF THE GUN

Falconry began its long decline at the commencement of enclosure, when it became increasingly difficult to ride cross country following a falcon, due to the planting of hedges. Furthermore, as soon as the gun was introduced as a method of catching meat for the table, and with the breeding of pheasants for the traditional shoot in the 19th century, falconry lost its importance in most peoples’ lives. Game keepers were under strict instruction to shoot any wild bird of prey that threatened their poults, and shooting became a far more popular sport in its own right.

As fewer and fewer people now collected birds from the wild for their own pleasure, the sport was even threatened with dieing out completely. Captive breeding of birds of prey did not begin until the 1970’s, and wild birds became endangered by persecution and poisoning. Even our beloved buzzard was nearly wiped out in the wild due to the shortage of rabbit in the 1950’s due to myxamatosis in rabbits, and shooting, poisoning and trapping of wild buzzards.

Fortunately during the 1980’s and 90’s popularity of keeping, and flying birds of prey once more increased as people had more leisure time. It then became illegal in Britain to take any bird of prey from the wild, and breeding began in earnest. Today it is the hawks that are most commonly kept as a ‘weekend’ bird, and due to our current countryside management these are the easiest to fly in hilly and wooded terrain. Falcons require a far more open countryside similar to the Scottish highlands, where grouse hawking (with falcons) is the pinnacle of every falconer’s career.

Many species have been imported from other parts, such as the Harris Hawk, or bay-winged hawk, from America, the American Redtail, but traditional falconers still like to fly the British (Finnish) Goshawk, which has re-established itself in the wild due to lost birds, having become extinct in 1956. The Harris Hawk has to be the ideal hawk for the majority of enthusiasts who work most of the week, ideal for taking rabbit or pheasant in most of the British countryside, and easy to man (man sitting with bird to quieten it) and to train.

Falcons have been hybridised to create new breeds, for greater longevity, ability to survive our climate, strength, speed or hunting skills, such as gyr x saker falcons, peregrine x prairie falcons, lanner x lugger falcons.

Whichever hawk or falcon people aspire to today it is important to take a course and to fully know and understand the commitment and level of expertise required before taking on the responsibility of such a bird, for this could be a lifelong companion, not just for the moment, and provide many outings of fun and frustration!  No longer is falconry passed down from generation to generation, and an understanding of the birds' natural behaviour is of paramount importance in the keeping of birds of prey.  Above all, the birds are to be enjoyed, and this is only possible in a relaxed and knowledgeable environment.

Please visit our History of Falconry exhibit at Exmoor Falconry and Animal Farm.

Written by Teresa Pratt. BA(Hons)
Edited by Cathy Powell, BSc(Hons)

Exmoor Falconry ©1st February 2008